Vaginal douche.



' PATENTBD APR. 23, 1907.

E. J. LAMPORT.

VAGINAL DOUCHE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1906.

W/TNES A TTOHNE YS UNITED sTaTns PATENT orrren.,

VAGINAL DOUCHE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

Application tiled March 28, 1906. Serial No. 308,545.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD JOHN LAM- PORT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Cape Town, Cape Colony, South Africa, haveinvented a new and Improved Vaginal Douche, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a vaginal douche which can beinserted in the vaginal canal in a collapsed state and then inilated soas to straighten out and render smooth the folds ot' the vagina,whereby'the liquid introduced through the instrument and flowing underpressure between the inflated wall of the instrument and opposing wallof the vagina, will thoroughly wash and disinfect all oli the membranesof the organ.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide a douche of thecharacter described, which will be thoroughlyT sanitary of simple,durable and economic construction and which can be conveniently applied.and operated.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set `forth and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis speci'lication, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the -figures.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the instrument, the bodyportion being shown collapsed, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of theinstrument showing its body inflated.

ln the construction of the body A oi" the instrument a tubular member 10is employed, the bore 11 whereof extends through from end to end, andthis tubular member 10 maybe made of hard rubber, or a non-corrosivemetal, as light as possible consistent with strength and maybe straightas shown or may be more or less curved.

The bore 11 is enlarged and is interiorly threaded at its outer end asis shown at 1.2 in Fig. 1, and near said outer end an exterior annularflange 13 is formed. A comparatively deep collar 14 is preferablyintegrally produced adjacent to the inner end of the tubular member 10,and at the extreme inner end of the member 10 a segmental enlargementlis made to accommodate the outer end of a soft rubber tube 15 providedwith the customary bulb to force liquid out tlnough said tubular member10 from any source of supply.

In connection with the tubular member 10 a removable head B is employedof practically oval shape, and as is illustrated in Fig. 1, this head bypreference is constructed partially or' hard rubber, or a non-corrosiveniaterial, and partially of glass or its equivalent. 'lhe rubber section1.6 of the head, which is its body section, is cut away at the top orouter end, to receive the segmental glass section 17. The cavity in thesection 16 is preferably conical, and the entering portion o't' thesection 17 is correspondingly shaped. The body section 1.6 is providedwith a bore 1S, which when the head is in place constitutes acontinuation of the bore of the tubular member 1.0, and in cach bore 11and 13 a glass tube is snugly fitted, the tube in the member 10 beingdesignated as 19 and that in the head as 20. The tube 2() is integralwith the lower central portion of the glass tip section 17, and saidsection is provided with radiating channels 21 continuous with the tube2O and extending through the outer face of the said tip section.

A ringshaped recess 22 is made in the inner end of the head B, forming atubular post member 23 through which the bore 1.8 and the glass tube 20extend. This post member 23 is exteriorly threaded and is screwedintothe threaded enlargement 12 of the bore 11 of the tubular member 1.0.

The body A of the instrument is provided with a jacket C made ofexpansible air-tight material consisting usually oi a thin soft rubbersleeve 24 and an outer corresponding sleeve 25, made o1 the thin skin orgut or bladder of an animal, 'for example, or other water and air-proofmaterial; but if found desirable the outer sleeve or casing may bedispensed with. The upper ends of the sleeves or casings 24 and 25 areslipped over the outer end oi the tubular member 10, covering the'flange 13, and then the head B is screwed to place until the marginalportion of the inner end of the head presses the sleeves or casings 24and 25 tightly upon the i'langc 13, thereby holding them in place, as isshown at 26 in Fig. 1.. The opposite or inner ends of the sleeves orcasings are passed over an exterior annular enlargement 27 at the innerend of the collar 14, and are thereupon cemented or are otherwisesecured. to said collar, as is shown at 2S in Fig. 1.

The outer end of a pipe 29 is usually screwed into the collar 14, theinner end o1 which extends some distance into the jacketed body A. Asmaller pipe 30 is usually IOO IIO

secured in the main pipe 29, and the inserted pipe 30 is enlarged at itsouter end to receive a flexible tube 31, having a customary bulb wherebyto force air into a chamber C formed by the jacket C, to expand thelatter. Another pipe 32 is screwed into the collar 14, eX- tending fromits inner to its outer end, and a relief valve 33 is located in the pipe82 whereby air may be discharged from the chamber C at any time.

In practice the instrument is inserted in its collapsed state, shown inFig. 1 and is then iniiated until the expanded wall of the chamber Cengages smoothly and uniformly with the wall of the vagina and 'withsuflicient force to straighten out all the folds in the vagina. Theliquid is then forced out through the channels 21 in the head B, and asthe liquid finds its way out between the inflated wall C of the deviceand the wall of the vaginal cavity it will carry all foreign matter outof the organ, leaving the same in a perfectly clean condition.

For medical purposes this douche is very serviceable and is mosteconomical, as a glass of medicated liquid is usually sufficient tothoroughly reach and cleanse all the membranes of the organ, and Vwhenthe air is eX- pelled and the douche is withdrawn the entire cavity'will have been thoroughly disinfected and therefore clean. And thedouche itself is especially sanitary in its construction, because of thefact that the radiating apertures 21 are continuous with the bore of thetubular member 10, the bore and apertures 21 can be kept thoroughlyclean, there being no intermediate chamber between the bore of thetubular member 10 and the aper# tures 21 of the head in which the fluidsused can lodge and become foul.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent,d

1. In a vaginal douche, a liquid-conducting tube having a collaradjacent to its inner end, a head removably secured to the outer end ofsaid conducting tube, having a bore in registry -with that in theconducting tube, and radial vchannels in its outer end portionconnecting with said bore, a jacket capable of contraction and expansionsecured to the conducting tube when the head connects therewith and tosaid collar, forming a chamber around the conducting tube, and means forsupplying air to said chamber and relieving the chamber from air, asrequired.

2. In a vaginal douche, the combination with an inflatable body, of atubular body passing through said conductor, and a head provided with acentral sleeve secured to said conductor, an annular flange adapted toclamp one end of said body to the conductor, and with radial aperturesextending into the opening of the tubular conductor.

3. In a vaginal douche, the combination with an inflatable body, of atubular conductor passing through said body, a head having a threadedengagement with said conductor and provided with a conical cavity, and aconical section engaging said cavity and provided with radial aperturescontinuous with the bore of the tubular conductor.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence ofv two subscribing witnesses:

EDWARD JOHN LAMPORT.

Witnesses:

G. J. GRIEsT, LEO L. FOSTER.

